Today is day 5 after having a Stem Cell Bone Marrow Prolotherapy done for a torn Meniscus. I had it done in Oak Park, IL at CaringMedical.com by Dr. Ross Hauser, M.D. It was for a complex torn meniscus (a MRI confirmed this) due to an injury incurred doing the Cornell Crack on July 2nd, 2011.

Of all the things that encouraged me ahead of time about the procedure was this report of its high success rate.

The summary quote is here:

"Patients stated that the response to Prolotherapy met their expectations in 27 out of the 28 knees (96%). Only one out of the 28 patients ended up getting surgery after Prolotherapy. Based on the results of this study, Prolotherapy appears to be an effective treatment for meniscal pathology. While this is only a pilot study, the results are so overwhelmingly positive that it warrants using Prolotherapy as first-line therapy for meniscal pathology including meniscal tears and degeneration."

I was really impressed with the doctor, his clinic and nurses. The lobby was full of patients, almost all of whom had seen the doctor before and who raved about the doctor's ability. One was a female hiker from Colorado.

I was very impressed with the diagnostic skills of the doctor. He spent about 20 minutes with me before the procedure (the nurse about 50 minutes before, during the procedure, and about 20 minutes after the procedure, and she called me up at home the following day). The whole procedure once it is started takes about 15 minutes.

The anesthesia, only local (procaine), was not even felt as anesthesia, and I did not fully realize I was under anesthesia until it wore off about 9 hours later. By the time I landed back in Albany NY, I did have to limp to the terminal entrance and drive home (thank goodness it was my left knee).

The next day I was so sore, I used old crutches to get around. However, the following day, I was able to walk without crutches, and do three separate 1/2 mile walks around the block.

The subsequent day (yesterday), I did a two mile walk around town, no problem at all.

The doctor told me he's thinking my knee will get back 80% as good as it was pre-injury within 2 months. And he says until it gets back 100% as good as it was pre-injury, he recommends a second procedure about 2 months from now (I scheduled it in January for insurance reasons, ie: my HSA account gets an infusion of $1,000 each year from my company and I can pay for the procedure with it).

CaringMedical.com expects full payment the day of procedure and I was very pleasantly surprised the cost was $800 less than I had anticipated, they recently reduced the price of the procedure. The procedure was $1375 but a mandatory first office visit was added on for $250, but the next time, there will be no first office visit fee. I had thought with the medication/supplements for a 2 month period (recommended), the flight, the cabs, the procedure, the office visit, I'd be spending $2900 but I got by with $2100, of which caringmedical.com's payment was $1375 for the procedure/office visit and $300 for two months worth of their special supplements for post-procedure use.

I am already able for the first time since the injury to slowly walk down the stairs without feeling the twinge/weakness I have consistently felt since the injury. In fact the major problem I had with the knee before the surgery was the problem walking down ordinary stairs (I found it easier to hike down a mountain trail than ordinary stairs). My knee does not feel completely like it was July 1st, but I think Dr. Hauser's prediction of 80% recovery towards the pre-injury goal is completely reasonable.

In his diagnosis, he felt, in contrast to the MRI report, which said there was no evidence of a tear in the ACL, that the ACL in my left knee was weaker than that in my right knee, and he thinks that was a contributing factor to the original injury. So in his prolotherapy procedure, he treated not only the torn meniscus, but the ACL.

They took the bone marrow (which has stem cells) from the healthy right knee to put in my left knee. There was zero pain in the right knee after the surgery.

I'll keep the board posted but so far I am 100% satisfied with the money spent and the way things are going.

By the way, one more link in favor of Prolotherapy. It is from the former US Surgeon General, Dr. Edward Koop.

p.s., I have posted a lot of research on Prolotherapy in this thread in the forum, Views from the Top.

Daryl, Wikipedia has a web page on the Cornell Crack. It's a wicked first step, you have to lift your left foot up about 28-30" and put it into a toe-hold that has room for 1/3rd of the foot, then kind of jump/lift yourself up and grab a much high ledge with your right arm and then find a footing for your right foot. Way too much stress on the left knee. I should have scouted for about 1/8th of a mile for a walk-a-bout which I later learned after the fact existed or turned around and give up the hike. I was so stupid continuing on the hike.

I've been spoiled hiking in the Sierras all these years, federal tax dollars on trail making and maintenance. Trails all manicured, switchbacks going up mountains. Really, really spoils you for a hike is always 100% a hike, never a climb. Such is not the case in the ADKs or the Catskills.

I strained my knee because of a similar big step a few years ago and another backpacker I know of reported an injury doing the same. I've been working hard to avoid such moves since my injury. I know you will be too.

Perhaps others can avoid the injury altogether by reading our experiences. Puts way too much stress on the machinery.

I am going for my second Stem Cell Prolotherapy treatment for my knee January 10. I am 100% happy and satisfied with my progress so far. I suspect I'll need it only 3 times to get back to pre-injury state. Dr. Hauser suspected I'd need it 3-4 times but at my progress, I think it will only need 3 treatments.

the only thing i can say is that the recovery can be a painful process ... but once you get the OK, the more you use the leg, the less stress itll place on the other knee ... and the more itll strengthen

climbing is actually quite a good recovery activity ... and you might get some more skill to destroy that cornell crack next time ;)

Ditto. Roleigh, you and I had our medical procedures done at roughly the same time. I had about 40% of my meniscus removed. Today, my knee sucks and is uncomfortable 100% of the time. I'm looking forward to an update to see if you're doing any better.

Funny you two should post on this today. I just flew back in from Chicago after having my third Stem Cell Prolotherapy treatment done today. Before I report on that, the latest issue of the Journal of Prolotherapy is the best documented research summary to present to any medical board or insurance board to justify the use of Prolotherapy written to date. Check it out. It is free, the entire issue is in PDF format.

I consider my knee 95 percent healed to pre-injury level insofar as walking or hiking goes. I consider it 75 percent healed to pre-injury level insofar as being able to run. What does this mean? In practice if I do a mountain hike of an Adirondack High Mountain Peak, I won't notice any problem in my knee except on the way down for about 2% of the time, I'll notice that my left knee is not as healthy as my right knee. I no longer limp going down hill. My hiking partners are amazed at this. However I can not hike downhill fast without occasionally favoring the right knee. But if I walk at a moderate pace, I can avoid favoring any knee. It's only when I attempt to run that I find myself limping to some degree. I asked Doctor Hauser today if having 1-2 more sessions of Stem Cell Prolotherapy if I could get back to pre-injury level for running purposes. He thinks it is possible. I have had so much success so far I'm tempted.

I am 100% thrilled with how I'm doing and other than perhaps maybe once or twice a month feeling a very tiny give in the knee, there are no problems felt in ordinary walking or hiking anymore. It takes about 2 months of optimal benefit from each procedure so I won't know how this third procedure will be. From the start the doctor told me I'd need 3-4 procedures done. The cost is about $1,100 per procedure for the Stem Cell Prolotherapy (it would be only $350 if it was standard prolotherapy only).

Some Prolotherapists charge more, some less. I know for Stem Cell Prolotherapy, Dr. Hauser is most competitive in his costs.

Dr. Ross Hauser has treated patients who have first had conventional surgery done.

If money is no problem for you, I'd consider Regnexx.com as they have patented procedures for doing really tough situations (anyone who has had conventional surgery done first, makes their case tougher to get new cartilage grown than if they only have the Stem Cell Prolotherapy done as the first recourse). If money is a problem, I'd contact Dr. Hauser. Take a look at my links and this latest JOP issue above. If you want your knee back to being good enough to do comfortable hiking I'd definitely do it.